Camp Wayford
by FallingAbsolutely
Summary: After the Giant War and high school, Percy is left wondering what next. Still struggling with adjusting to peace, he must discover who he is without a prophecy hanging over his head.


Ever since the war had ended, Percy had been at a loss as to what to do. He and Annabeth had broken up a few months ago due to their wanting different things. Annabeth had wanted to go to college and Percy, well Percy had no clue what he wanted to do. He just knew he didn't want to go to college. After the war, Percy had gone back to high school. It had been an adjustment. He hadn't been to school in a year and even with help he found it harder than ever to sit still and pay attention for eight hours a day. That was ignoring the fact that he had been through two wars with only a few months in between. Everyone else had gotten at least a year, but he'd been asleep so he didn't have time to process the first war before being put into the second. Percy was still trying to adjust to life during peacetime. He was constantly on edge waiting for the other shoe to drop. The nightmares from Tartarus were only making adjusting harder.

Despite all of that, Percy had still managed to graduate high school with mostly B's. Which led him back to his current dilemma: what to do next. Most of his friends were either going to college or busy helping the camps. But not Percy. Percy had gone back to Camp Half Blood shortly after graduation, but it no longer felt like home. The camp had never needed him to function and with his disappearance, it had adjusted back to running without him. His friends were either getting ready for college, busy leading and uniting the camps, or they were dead. And with his being personally involved with two major prophecies, the new campers weren't exactly comfortable approaching him. So Percy was at a loss as to what he was supposed to do. He was no longer Praetor of Camp Jupiter and even if he went back, he could hardly spend the rest of his life there. Chiron had always given him great advice before, so Percy decided to seek him out.

"Chiron, I need your advice," Percy called out as he walked into the big house.

"What on?"

Percy explained his problem to Chiron. How he no longer felt at home. How he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He even talked about how it felt like the camp was too peaceful.

"Percy, ever since you entered this camp, your life has been one long fight. Every year you've gone on a quest and fought for your life. Now that you're finally experiencing peace, it's perfectly natural to feel out of place and as though you no longer have a purpose. It truly is a shame that you've never been able to experience peace at this camp. It's just going to take time to adjust is all."

Percy understood what Chiron was really saying. Most heroes died shortly after completing their quest. That Percy was still alive was a miracle and not one that anyone in the mythological world was equipped to deal with.

"I'm tired of being told to give it time! That's all anyone ever says! Well I've given it time! I've been back for a year and nothing has changed! I want to stop feeling this way. I want to be able to enjoy this peace Chiron. But everyone here looks at me like I'm one of the gods. What am I supposed to do?"

"I understand that you aren't going to college, but perhaps you need a change of scenery. And I don't mean going to Camp Jupiter or going home. When was the last time you traveled without being on a quest? Maybe some traveling will do you good. You can fight monsters when you need to and you can get away from all of this. It'll give you the opportunity to figure out who you now that the wars are over. And if you ever need to contact someone, you're just an IM away."

"I don't know, I'll think about it. Thanks, Chiron,"

And with that Percy went back to his cabin. Perhaps Chiron was right. He did need to get away from everything. He didn't want to admit it, but camp wasn't his home anymore and he needed to figure who he was without having to deal with everyone's expectations. And besides, if he left he could work on his other issue. Ever since he'd controlled the poison in Tartarus, Percy had been having issues. Annabeth was right in that some things weren't meant to be controlled, but for everyone's safety he needed to figure out what exactly he could do. And the gods couldn't find out. He was sure that Zeus would kill him, hero or not, the moment he found out that Percy could control more than water. His decision made, Percy went about the rest of his day preparing to leave the next morning.


End file.
